Ken McGuire

Ripping Blogs And Forums To The Press

You’re quoted in an article in a newspaper about your take on certain events and you give permission to the article’s author to make reference to your website after speaking with him in depth about the article in question.

The following morning you pick up another newspaper and see that an entire blog post has been lifted without prior contact or permission and reprinted word for word. Also lifted are quotes that you made on a private forum (free forum, but you have to register to be able to read it) which another journalist registered for, published in full in said newspaper attributed to “one contributer said…” or “one contributer replied…”.

Now, in fairness, I would have certainly expected more from this newspaper, one I’ve had a decent relationship with over the last year. The article didn’t have an author’s name to it (how can you author something that is someone’s entire blog post and numerous subsequent quotes and comments) but I know who you are and neither myself or the others involved are too happy!

So whats your take? Would you be pleased to find your work appearing in the media without a sniff of a mention, courtesy phone call or email?

At least they didn’t reprint the photographs! There’s only so far across the line you THINK you can walk.